In-store Promotion at its finest...

Record store owners that are still in business are not dinosaurs but rather they are survivors. They, like all of us, remain passionate about an industry that is in flux. Their mission is simple - find a way to win and that is exactly what so many of them are doing in these heady times. So when a world recognized funk orchestra comes along and teams with a music store it becomes a thing of beauty. Music purchases are still made as an impulse reaction to hearing the music. This is exactly what makes radio so powerful. Radio listeners, consumers, hear the music and may well react to what they've just heard. So imagine the power of an in store performance in regard to potential CD sales, not individual track sales, but CD sales. Now you're talking something really cool. Of course success doesn't just arrive magically. The pre-show promotions have to be worked out and implemented prior to the upcoming show date. In addition, on the show date itself, the quality of the live performance has to be outstanding and outstanding is exactly what just occurred at Cactus Music in Houston, Texas.

Cactus management teamed with ThunderSOUL Orchestra's label,
Suite 28 Records, and the afternoon came together without a hitch.

This particular event delivered a thirteen piece orchestra coupled with a photo op and autograph session. The line at the cash register was impressive and equally impressive were those that wanted what they had just purchased autographed. Memories are made on days like this, perhaps you own an album that someone signed, if so you remember the details of that particular day or evening to this very day. That's cool and cool just happened at Cactus Music. People brought their kids to hear and see ThunderSOUL and ThunderSOUL delivered big time. The group's front man Tino came to the front of the stage for example and noted publicly how many children were in the audience. Then he brought our attention to a gentleman that had been dancing old school and brought the man over to the stage area. He asked the man if he would show the kids some old school moves and the man made some cool moves for all of us to see. Then the group's percussionist Donny joined in and added some moves of his own - everybody in the room was down with it. Inclusion is the word - if you deliver a show that invites all demographics to participate the room comes alive with a coolness all its own. ThunderSOUL is all about sharing and caring - their roots come from a man who was every bit that way and that is what he instilled in his band members. ThunderSOUL is passing it along. Sharing and caring.

On the other side of the success equation is the record store management team. You have to staff enough people for the day, you have to get the word out, have enough stock on hand, serve up some beverages, and when you tie it all together it can spell success. On this particular day success would be the appropriate word - everybody was digging it. - John in Houston PR LLC

PROMOTIONAL EVENT DESCRIPTION

Cactus Music Presents The World Famous ThunderSOUL Orchestra

This Saturday the hippest thirteen piece funk orchestra in the world presents a free concert at Cactus Music. A CD Autograph and photo op session immediately follows the performance. November 19th 3pm at Portsmouth and Shepherd Drive. - Houston Press

The hippest twenty piece funk orchestra in the world.
Free In-Store Performance
CD Autographs and photo opportunities
immediately following
the performance - JohninHouston PR LLC

There is something special about ThunderSOUL Orchestra and other artists have taken notice. Recently, Jackson Browne opened his studio doors for the band and allowed them to record some of their new music in Santa Monica, California at Groove Masters. ThunderSOUL Orchestra's long awaited album project 528-0728 was released this year.

The new album was recorded in Houston, Texas at Stone Heights and Wire Road Studios, but the band was able to incorporate some California vibes to the album while recording at Browne's studio. The new album hit retailers on September 30, 2016 to great reviews from music critics.

ThunderSOUL Orchestra may be best known for the 2011 Jamie Foxx documentary "ThunderSOUL" which tells the story of the band's origins and their reunion with an influential teacher. Foxx appeared in media outlets, including "Ellen", to talk about the film and the band featured in the documentary. ThunderSoul Orchestra formed out of the Kashmere Stage Band, a high school performance band from Houston, Texas. They competed in a national high school competition and won. The band went on to win prestigious awards and perform across the United States, Japan, and Europe. In the documentary, the band reunites thirty years later to perform together for their teacher.

ThunderSOUL Orchestra has continued to perform since their reunion and recorded their new album in memory of their mentor and teacher, Conrad "Prof" O. Johnson. The new album title is a direct reflection of their youth, it is "Prof's" old phone number. A number the band could call 24/7 and a man would answer, listen and simply be there if they needed him. The members were more than in his band, they were in his world: a world of caring and giving through actions.

Keep up to date with ThunderSOUL on their Facebook page or website. - AXS.com

"528-0728" is now spinning at Radio Stations Nationwide

This world has a lot of cool people in it but none cooler than Jackson Browne and friends. The guys were on the west coast when Fernando Pullum felt the synergy and said "We got to capture this!"

A phone call was made and so was history. You see the members of ThunderSOUL hold a unique place in history. They are all graduating students of the "Prof's" education, musically and perhaps more so personally.
Noted actor/producer Jamie Foxx saw it too. Early on Mr. Foxx realized that something very special had taken place in Houston Texas. Something that touched a high school band years ago that was staying with them years and years later. It was the Kashmere High School Band under the direction of their beloved "Prof" Conrad O. Johnson. A man that not only gave them the knowledge and discipline to be great musicians but also gave them of himself. The new album title is a direct reflection of their youth, it is "Prof's" old phone number. A number they could call 24/7 and a man would answer and listen and be there if they needed him. You were more than in his band, you were in his world, a world of caring and giving through actions. Mr. Foxx learned of their successes both in concert and in their private lives due to this one man. He captured it and released it. To this day young people are inspired by Mr. Foxx's presentation of the real life winners from Houston's fifth ward.

Years later, on the west coast, the guys encounter a chance opportunity to capture their unique and fresh vibe through the compassion of a west coast musician. He told the guys that this should be recorded right now and that he could make a call and possibly get them into Jackson Browne's recording studio immediately. He made the call and Mr. Jackson said absolutely. So through ThunderSOUL's quest to spread the news that one man can make a difference another good man rises up. First, Jamie Foxx and now Jackson Browne. The end result is the track list below. Check it out - it kicks ass! - JohnInHouston PR LLC

Dedicated to their beloved mentor, Conrad O. Johnson, Sr., affectionately known as “Prof,” ThunderSOUL Orchestra has recorded a new album to be released by Suite 28 Records in September 2016.

From 1968 to 1977, Prof transformed the struggling Houston, TX Kashmere High School Stage Band into a world-renowned funk powerhouse. During this time, Prof broke the race-barrier and status-quo by placing his students in the fiercely competitive arena of national high school stage band competitions. Opposite of the established, conservative tone of these gatherings, Prof encouraged the Kashmere Stage Band to embrace their own style, introducing elaborate funk arrangements and showmanship. In the face of tremendous odds, the band went on to win prestigious awards and perform across the United States, Japan, and Europe. - Suite28 Records

New York, NY (Top40 Charts) Dedicated to their beloved mentor, Conrad O. Johnson, Sr., affectionately known as �Prof,� ThunderSOUL Orchestra has recorded a new album to be released by Suite 28 Records in September 2016. From 1968 to 1977, Prof transformed the struggling Houston, TX Kashmere High School Stage Band into a world-renowned funk powerhouse. During this time, Prof broke the race-barrier and status-quo by placing his students in the fiercely competitive arena of national high school stage band competitions. Opposite of the established, conservative tone of these gatherings, Prof encouraged the Kashmere Stage Band to embrace their own style, introducing elaborate funk arrangements and showmanship. In the face of tremendous odds, the band went on to win prestigious awards and perform across the United States, Japan, and Europe. ThunderSOUL Orchestra, an offshoot of alumni from the Kashmere Stage Band which still exist today, chose to title their new release �528-0728� because this was Prof�s home phone number. As teenagers, members of the Kashmere Stage Band would call Prof to get answers for personal concerns; to which he would always give sound advice without a prejudice ear. Nearly 40 years later, alumni of the Kashmere Stage Band reunited to play a tribute concert for their former teacher and dynamic bandleader. The group rehearsed in the very same room where they practiced as teenagers and performed for the current student body at the very school where they made history decades earlier. The �ThunderSOUL� documentary film captures this event, produced by Jamie Foxx and released in 2010. The documentary allowed the music and experience of the Kashmere Stage Band to be shared with a wide, new audience. With a strong focus on the transformative properties of music education, the group�s website reads: �ThunderSOUL Orchestra's mission is to educate, inform and enlighten educators, students and parents to the fact that dedication, commitment, focus and intent for our children�s Music and Fine Arts training is of most importance. We believe that the power of music can and does; improve lives, smash barriers, inspire youth, establish legacies and motivate toward excellence. We believe that by encouraging students to participate in Music and Fine Arts Programs along with their academic studies, we are developing not just excellent students, but interesting and talented members of society.� Thanks to trumpeter Fernando Pullum, ThunderSOUL Orchestra has a special collaborative relationship with legendary band, Earth, Wind, & Fire. In addition to performing on �528-0728,� Pullum recently taught actor Don Cheadle to play trumpet for his role as Miles Davis in the biopic �Miles Ahead.� The �528-0728� project was also introduced to Jackson Browne�s Groove Masters Studio by Pullum. A passionate music education enthusiast and supporter himself, Browne donated studio time to further ThunderSOUL Orchestra�s mission to reach students with music. Read more at: https://tr.im/21FVR - Top 40 Charts

New York, NY (Top40 Charts) Enjoying the right kind of entertainment is what delights theatre going audiences. You are a talent buyer, you know the difference between bluster and delivery. So have I got something for you. Envision the audience being in place and to their curiosity a large white projection screen extends from the ceiling to the floor. They didn�t come to see a movie but yet there is this huge white screen enveloping the stage. The lights go down and Actor/Producer Jamie Foxx�s documentary about a legendary band leader and his students begins to roll. Just as the piece ends the screen withdraws, music begins, and the stage is filled with the very musicians that the documentary has just highlighted. The audience applauds in acknowledgment. At that very moment in time that very same orchestra starts delivering a jazz/funk sound made famous by the musicians and their leader decades ago. But perhaps the best part is yet to come. You see when you book The ThunderSOUL Orchestra the entire orchestra will go to the high school of your choosing and blow the minds of your local boys and girls. They do this because the dream lives on � these are sincere men that learned about life through a band leader that unselfishly gave all to his students. Each and every one of them will tell you how this man, Conrad O. Johnson, didn�t just touch their lives � he molded their lives for an entire lifetime. In a teen�s world plagued with fear and the need for more money than ever before in history the revelation of the ThunderSOUL Orchestra�s story is a cool drink of water in an otherwise parched desert. Your booking can bring that experience to your community at no additional charge. Read more at: https://tr.im/1cVFu - Top 40 Charts

Houston's Kashmere High School was an all-black institution in the less-than-affluent 5th Ward of the city that benefited from the presence of one dedicated, visionary and inspiring teacher.
He taught music and ran the stage band , which fused jazz and the emerging funk of the late '60s and early '70s to create a legendary sound that lifted the band, the school and the entire student body to the heights of musical and academic glory.


"Thunder Soul" was their sound, and "Thunder Soul" is the name of the winning documentary about Conrad O. Johnson and the students — they all called him "Prof" — he influenced during his decades on the job.
It's an uplifting and entertaining film about that music — rediscovered by DJs and music producers , decades later — and the kids who embraced the music and used that experience to launch the rest of their lives. "He could see the future inside of us," one remembers.
Johnson was not a young man by the time his glory days arrived. He'd been teaching kids jazz for decades before he, through them, discovered James Brown, Earth Wind & Fire and funk. In vintage TV interviews, Johnson recalls composing and arranging pieces in that vein, which his students dived into and further funked up with a lively, bouncy, dance-in-their-seats showmanship.
Kashmere kids dominated competitions and toured the world. The film remembers those days, and follows a reunion concert arranged to relive that glory and to celebrate Johnson, a lively 92 when "Thunder Soul" was filmed. Former students recall the era — hot on the heels of the civil rights movement, in the middle of women's liberation ("A girl playing trombone? You never saw that!"). And they recall the teacher.
"He set incredibly high goals."
"He taught me how to be a man."
"That band was going to take me somewhere some day."
Nothing would buttress the movie's subtext — that one inspiring teacher and music education itself can make a difference, raise expectations, improve the quality of life and build success —rbmoore@tribune.com - Chicago Tribune A&E

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum is pleased to host a film screening of Thunder Soul. The documentary Thunder Soul chronicles the history of Houston’s Kashmere High School Stage Band and its legendary band director, Conrad “Prof” Johnson. This event is presented in conjunction with the Rock Hall’s annual Summer Teacher Institute, a week-long workshop for teachers dedicated to bringing rock and roll into the classroom. The screening will be followed by a discussion with Craig Baldwin and Jimmie Walker, former members of the Kashmere Stage Band, as well as Conrad Johnson Jr., son of the group’s founder.

THE STORY:
In Houston, Texas in the late 1960s, musician and composer Conrad O. Johnson, widely known as “Prof”, took a job as Music Director at the predominantly black Kashmere High School where he would go on to transform the school’s struggling jazz band into a full-fledged funk powerhouse. The Kashmere High School Stage Band and their dynamic leader would soon become legendary and world-renowned.

In the early 1970s, national High School Stage Band competitions were fiercely competitive, strictly conservative, and almost entirely white. Not only did Prof break the color barrier and get his kids into these competitions, he flipped the status quo by rearranging all of his band’s music into elaborate funk arrangements. He changed the band’s look, encouraging them to embrace their own inimitable style. He then introduced the element of showmanship, with each section choreographing slick moves with their instruments—unprecedented at the time. Finally, he unleashed his band on the competition scene, where, against tremendous odds, they would go on to triumph again and again.

From 1968 to 1977, the Kashmere Stage Band won a record number of titles around the nation and was invited to perform in Europe and Japan. Prof and the band made history when they won Most Outstanding Stage Band in the Nation at the highly prestigious All-American High School Stage Band Festival in Mobile, Alabama, in 1972 – the very same year that state’s segregationist Governor George Wallace would announce a run for the presidency.

The band’s success reverberated throughout Kashmere High School resulting in unprecedented student achievement in the arts, athletics and all academic disciplines. Prof and the band’s accomplishments also helped to uplift and unite the community. - ROCK AND ROLL HALL OF FAME MUSEUM

I just got the opportunity to review the most recent release, 528-0728 from ThunderSOUL Orchestra and it's a funky soul party. Opening with pure funk track, What U Need, Gino has the lead on vocal with background vocals by Tino and Rollo. Reginald Nello Nelson on piano Orphey on hot trumpet, the tight percussion of Donald Compton and the plucky bass of Gerald Calhoun makes this a hot track. Next up is Pleasure, another track that just oozes funk. With Howard Ware and Scott Orphey on hot trumpet, Gerrry Demars on trombone and excellent vocal blending with Tino and Rollo. Special guests, Scott Mayo on sax, Reggie Young on trombone, Darell Crooks on guitar, Gary Bias on sax, Jimmie Earl Walker on trombone, Dorian Paul Williams, Chad Welling on guitar, Eddie Knight on guitar, Elmoris Britton III on drums, Leslie Michael vocal, Alva nelson piano, Fernando Pullum on trumpet, Johnny Reason on guitar, Dean James on sax, Charles Spike on guitar, Danny Hull sax makes this band really smoke! Hey rolls into some really sweet soulful feel with super vocal blending and really nice basswork. Excellent! Super smoking Johnny Reason is really a grooving bass track with warm vocals and screaming guitar soloing in the like of Eddie Hazel. Wow! Back to the heavy funk, Noise has a great groove and nicely woven vocals. Calhoun is off the hook on bass creating such a great interplay with Compton on drums. Smooth soul track, Too Many Keys is really vocally smooth with just the right touch. Compton's drum work is tight and funky. Stretching out a funky jazz soul interlude, I Wanna Go Home is warm and with nicely woven instrumentation creates a really nice soul envelope of sound. Breathing a hot puff of funk, Hahahaha Yeah if a super funky groove. With a great bass bottom that is constantly on the move, horn punctuation and infectious vocals, this track is super. Wrapping the release is All About Love's Holiday, a cool reprise with soulful vocal blending over the vital bass work of Compton and super horn work by Demars, Nelson and Orphey. A really funky cool release. Yes! - Bman's Blues Report